You Asked For It!

As
youll undoubtedly notice, this month we unveil some significant new pieces of SoundStage!
that many of you have asked for in one form or another. We first introduce the Review at a
Glance box, followed by our Reviewers Choice tag, and finally the SoundStage!
Equipment Database. The three go rather hand in hand and aim at fulfilling your requests
for how we would rate in some ultimate way the components we write about. We hope all
three meet your expectations.

Of course, there are any number of ways to
categorize and classify audio equipment, the best-known of these being Stereophiles
Recommended Components. In reply to those enemies of Recommended Components who argue that
its less than helpful, I would say that it just isnt perfect -- and no system
as all-encompassing as it is could hope to be. Most of us have mentally composed a letter
or two to Stereophile when our favorite component was classified lower than we
thought it should be, and manufacturers either love RC or hate it -- sometimes both. We
all know that matching various components to make up a musically satisfying audio system
is whats most important, and for years, maybe since the inception of RC, Stereophile
has suggested as much at the opening of every Recommended Components listing.

In contrast, we wanted to provide you with a way
of doing your own categorization -- based on whats important to you -- while
steering you toward components that we feel are extraordinary for any number of reasons.
Hence, we will include with every review we publish a Review at a Glance box that
summarizes the most important points about the equipment under evaluation in four
different categories: sound, features, use and value. All Review at a Glance boxes will
then be collected and displayed in tabular form in the SoundStage! Equipment
Database. This layout will allow you to peruse an entire category of equipment, noting
whats important about each individual component and allowing you to figure out which
reviews to study further. We will begin rolling out categories -- amps first, with
speakers, preamps, etc. to follow -- this month, and as part of this process well go
back and create Review at a Glance boxes for previously published reviews. If this
seems like a lot of work, it is. But we think its important work.

Review at a Glance

Sound

The overall sound
the component produces in the reviewers system

Features

Special features of
the component such as class-A operation or an I2S digital output

Use

Any important in-use
issues such as that component runs hot or sounds its best with particular cables or
ancillary components.

Value

An expression of the
components price: performance ratio.

So where does Reviewers Choice come
into play? Components we feel offer something special -- tremendous sound, great value,
and any combination of these and other noteworthy aspects -- will earn the tag
Reviewers Choice. In the reviews of these components, the Review at a Glance box
will include an extra line expressing succinctly why the component has earned this high
honor. Again, we will go back and bestow the Reviewers Choice tag on components we
reviewed in the past, and this information will appear in the Equipment Database for you
to see.

And the plan doesnt end there. Each year we
will vote among ourselves in order to further award those products that best exemplify
what the high end is all about: great sound in the service of great music. We will
evaluate products at various price levels, and I will tip my hand here to say that those
products that combine sound and cost in such a way as to be especially appealing and
affordable to the music-loving public will get bonus points. However, this does not mean
that we will ignore the very best products, which often cost the most money. Well
call em like we hear em, but we wont completely ignore our wallets in
the process.

We know that we wont make everyone happy,
especially those who want us to rank and categorize everything we review. If
theres anything weve learned from building SoundStage! its that
we cant please everyone. In the end, we want for SoundStage! to continue to
be an informative and enjoyable place to visit, not the root of further audio angst on the
Internet. As Review at a Glance, Reviewers Choice and the Equipment Database mature,
let us know how were doing. Well be here.